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Jade Ngo
Ms. Shaffer
English 1 GATE
20, September 2016

No Shortcuts to Freedom
Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or
restraint, but this type of freedom does not apply to all mankind. To some, freedom is the mission
to escape dication and authority. To others, freedom is as simple as reading a novel, giving
consent to the words on the pages to lead them to another world of imagery. The House on
Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, expresses freedom in many different perspectives of
the women in the neighborhood. In the novel, the narrator, Esperanza, is desperate for freedom.
She lives in a poor run-down house in the middle of a latino neighborhood and spends her time
dreaming of escaping the poverty and sadness. The young latino girl realized how important
freedom is to her; how much she wants have her own house and her own dreams, but in order to
receive that freedom, Esperanza implied effort into her writing, which was the one activity that
seemed to lead her to a better place. Instead of marrying and relying on men to provide a source
of freedom, she became an independent women and found freedom on her own will and effort.
Esperanza did not cheat her way through the difficult obstacles in order to reach her dreams and
happiness, she marched through the hardship with dedication and power. There are no shortcuts
to freedom, earn it with effort. This thesis is proven by the women on Mango Street, Sally, a
young girl who married young, and Esperanzas poems filled with dreams.

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When Esperanza first moved into the old house on Mango Street, she noticed that most of
the women in the neighborhood were full of sorrow, which reminded ther of her grandmothers
depressing past. In the story, Esperanza states, She looked out the window her whole life, the
way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she
got or was she sorry because she couldnt be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have
inherited her name, but I dont want to inherit her place by the window (10). This quote shows
that most women on Mango Street are always sad and lonely because of unhappy marriage. The
women did not get a chance to fulfil their dreams and become all the things they wanted to be.
Life is like living in a cage, waiting for freedom to come by and sweep the women away. Seeing
how the women on Mango Street behaved because of no freedom made Esperanza want to have
freedom more than anything else in the world, she was despirt for the taste of freedom.
Esperanza dreams of becoming an independent woman and will not rely on men to provide her a
source of freedom and happiness. Esperanza believes that the only way to reach freedom is to
work through the hardships fairly so that she will be able to experience sweet freedom instead of
bitter.
Later in the story, Esperanza encountered a new friend whom she respected and valued
because of her maturity in boys and beauty, but soon, Esperanza realized that the friend was just
selling her body to boys in order to have a sense of freedom in her life. Sally would always be
beat by her father. Her beautiful face would be bruised everyday, but she lied and said that she
was being clumsy and tripped. On page 101 of The House on Mango Street, the book stated,
Sally got married like we knew she would, young and not ready but married just the same
She says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape Except he wont let her talk on the
telephone. And he doesn't let her look out the window. And he doesnt like her friends, so nobody

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gets to visit her unless he is working. She sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without
his permission (101). This quote means that Sally has a strong desire for freedom just like the
other women on Mango Street, but instead of shedding hardships to receive happiness, she
decided to get married as soon as possible to get away from her abusive father. In order to get
away from her father and have what she thinks is freedom, Sally married an overprotective
husband, but instead of finding happiness, Sally is locked inside the house all day. Under full
control of her husband, Sally spends her day alone at home, waiting quietly for the man to come
home. Sallys plan to find freedom through marriage didnt succeed because she didnt find what
freedom really meant to her. She took a shortcut and ruined herself.
At the end of the story, Esperanza matured over the years living on Mango Street. She
have discovered what freedom meant to her and became an strong, independent women. In the
story, Esperanza vows, I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so much. I write
it down and Mango says goodbye sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She sets me
free. One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I
am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away (110). The quote means
that Esperanza earned freedom through writing. Just like she said she would, Esperanza found
freedom herself. Instead of taking a shortcut to freedom by marrying a man like the other
women on Mango Street, Esperanza finds freedom through writing and language. When she
writes, it makes her feel like she escaped Mango Street into a world of peace and happiness,
which is why Esperanza sets off to be a writer and come back to Mango Street to show the
women that she found what freedom on her own.
There are no shortcuts to freedom, earn it through passion and effort. In The House on
Mango Street, all of the women that Esperanza observed had no freedom at all and spends their

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time looking out the windows, wishing that they had a chance to do all the things they wanted to
do. Marriage took that all away from them because the women lets the men take over their lives.
Sally is the same age as Esperanza, but she matured too quickly. Sally believes that freedom is
only found in maturity and adulthood, but the naive girl used sexual actions to find freedom.
Sally married a possessive husband and was locked inside the house all day. She ended up being
another regretful women on Mango Street. Esperanza found her freedom through writing and
language. Writing settled her mind in a state of peace. Esperanza used words to express her
feelings and thoughts, putting ease on her difficult life. Esperanza became an independent
woman and succeeded in finding her freedom without men. How important is freedom to you
and to what extent will you take to have freedom? Would you work through the obstacles like
Esperanza, with hard work and progression, or would you conquer your freedom quick but not
efficiently like Sally. Shortcuts may seem efficient at first, but soon, you will realize that the path
you took is dangerous, getting you lost and sending regretful thoughts through your mind. Put
effort in you mission and do what you can to be able to say that you are a free human being.
Reach out to sky and never let go, but every building needs a strong base. Start off by asking
yourself this, Why is freedom an important aspect in my life?

Rubric rating submitted on: 10/2/2016, 11:44:40 AM by ashley.shaffer@salinasuhsd.org

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Comments:
Sophisticated and clear analyses!
M.U.G.: 10/10
Rubric rating submitted on: 10/11/2016, 8:57:55 PM by ashley.shaffer@salinasuhsd.org
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Comments:
Nice flow, Jade!
M.U.G.: 10/10